After finally deciding to replace my trusty vRS with a new Yeti, I had to sell it on. Since I didn't have a lot of time to spare I gave webuyanycar.com a try - very annoying adverts, but at least they give you a quick way to sell if you need to. 

It hasn't gone far - Prestige Motors in Cardiff now has it on their forecourt, and they've also got it up on Autotrader :-)  Needless to say, it's for sale at about 3 times what I got for it!

So, if anyone is looking at a silver Y-reg vRS from the above dealer, feel free to PM me for further details on it. It has been well-serviced but there are a few little niggles that a buyer ought to know about.

out of interest what did you get in the end for it off wbac? as they only offered me 1650 for my 03 plate vrs and then I've heard there is fee's taken out of this too?

The online quote was about £1200 if I remember correctly. From that, they take out at £50 admin fee. But then they deduct more money for any chips, marks, scuffs or paintwork damage. They price these paintwork fixups at full retail price (e.g., deducting £70 - £80 for a paintwork scuff that wouldn't cost a garage that much to fix). The mechanical inspection was quick and basic, and the test drive was just me driving a little way round the industrial estate the office is in, with the WBAC guy sitting as passenger. They seem to concentrate more on exterior condition when it comes to a valuation.

After the inspection I was offered £880.  Since I didn't have time to organise selling privately (I'm moving house at the moment), I took the offer as a low-hassle alternative. Paperwork was done in a few minutes and money arrived in my account a couple of days later with no problems.

Although they say they buy ANY car, they really don't want to - chatting to the guy at the office, they much prefer mid-market stuff that's only 3-4 years old. Basically cars they can shift really easily at auction for a good mark up. Anything older or more specialised and you're not going to get a good price. On the plus side, I did the whole thing at a time that suited me (a Sunday afternoon), and it was quick and easy. But they're not the place to go if you want to get best value for your car.

If you are thinking of using WBAC, get your car cleaned and valeted as best you can beforehand. The shinier the better :-)  And fix any small paintwork defects or chips if you can do so cheaply and easily, since they will take a big chunk off the valuation they give you.

Basically they offer bottom book price & then reduce it for anything they can find wrong. No wonder they can afford big TV advertising campaigns.

Basically they offer bottom book price & then reduce it for anything they can find wrong. 

Yes, exactly.   You pay a big premium for the convenience of selling to them.

In my case, if I'd sold it privately I would only have looked to get around £1000, so it wasn't a huge gap.

After the inspection I was offered £880.  Since I didn't have time to organise selling privately (I'm moving house at the moment), I took the offer as a low-hassle alternative. Paperwork was done in a few minutes and money arrived in my account a couple of days later with no problems.

Would it not have been worth more as a Trade in against the Yeti? My dealer has offered me £1200 as a trade in for my 100,000 mile 99 T Plate 1.8 SLXi Estate against a 2007 Roomster on sale for £7450

Yeah I wouldn't sell mine too them, just went on to see what they valued it at, know your never going to get a good price from the likes of these places,

Would it not have been worth more as a Trade in against the Yeti? 

Possibly. But I bought through drivethedeal.com, and wanted to keep that transaction as simple and hassle-free as possible  :-)   If I was doing it again I'd spend more time checking out trade-ins and/or make the time to sell privately.

Yes, exactly. You pay a big premium for the convenience of selling to them.

In my case, if I'd sold it privately I would only have looked to get around £1000, so it wasn't a huge gap.

Crikey, even a high mileage average condition vRS should fetch £1500.

Crikey, even a high mileage average condition vRS should fetch £1500.

It was perfectly safe and driveable, but did have a few faults - in a private sale I'd not have asked more than £1000 for it.

I had planned to list it for sale on here, but just didn't have the time to organise it.

wbac.com ! mhh sister company to Carcraft mhhhh wonder where they get rid of the tidy stuff

all sheds go to local auctions and sold on to the trade.

most cars scrap weigh/in over £170 in todays climate.

they are there to take advantage of people u might aswell drive/enter it to the auction yourself (if it's not privately sellable) and cut the screwing middleman out.

ive worked for them